HODEY Vital Centrum has been working as a comprehensive provider in the healthcare sector for over 45 years in the Region of the low Rhine in cities like Kamp-Lintfort, Kleve, Aachen and many more. In addition to tradition and experience, HODEY also stands for innovative customer solutions. They show as a very nice process in orthopedia how to use some tools of digital fabrication in the production of prosthetics, orthotics, and shoes. visit the website of hodey for further details
When we reached the factory, Mr. Hodey already welcomed us in his manufactory. He was founded in a small seminar room at the top of the building, from where you had a great look into his big hall with a lot of technical devises such as wheel-chairs, many different orthoses and a lot of huge products for home caring.
His main topic was the production of an individual adjusted orthoses for a customers leg to stabilizes its withstand. We went down to the manufactory where we first of all met a room with a lot of technology. In the middle on two tables were some imprints of legs which he told us were printed in a 3D-printer. Before they started to invest in such technology, Hodey had to print such imprints via a sub company which was on the one hand very expensive and on the other time consuming.
Now when they can make such imprints by their own, the whole process accelerated. With their 3D-Scanner, the employees are able to get a technical drawing within seconds. He went around the imprint and showed us on his computer how the model looks like in a drawing. He was able to make some adjustments if the a customer needs some extra issues, for example if his leg turns inside, the employee could push the leg more to the other side, to get a straight posture.
Printing models by their own
Well, if the model is printed in the manufactory, the staff fills the imprint with some foamed material because for the next step it should not be hollow. Hot plastic material in form of a thin cover is hand over the model, this will be the end-product which will be sold to the customer. When it is cold, tapes for right stand are installed and other technical needs can be affixed. This whole process can be hold both, in the manufactory or at the customers home.
Technology
Invention of new technologies
Hodey also owns a scanning system in its showroom. This one scans the feed from the bottom to make evident if a person needs orthopedic inlays in its shoes. On his computer the employee can directly click for which use the inlays will be. If it is for sports or if a customer has hammer toes, splints, toes fused together or complaints with splay and flat feet. Again the inlay will directly produced in one of Hodeys manufacturies. For this type of devise it is a need of a milling machine which mills out all unnecessary material until only the inlay remains. In the end we came back to the seminar room, where Mr. Hodey holds a presentation about the company and gave us the possibility to rework on one of his products as our final product. It was a waist and chest belt for the stabilization of the body.
